


The Rescue

by Lookatallmyships



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Archie is badass, Developing Relationship, Episode Related, First Kiss, Fluff, Season one/episode five, angst - but like dont worry about it, protect Archie Hopper 2k20
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:28:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25319071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lookatallmyships/pseuds/Lookatallmyships
Summary: Set during season one, episode five when Archie and Henry get trapped in the old mine.Photoset for this fic: https://imgur.com/a/p36khYG
Relationships: Geppetto | Marco/Jiminy Cricket | Archie Hopper
Kudos: 4





	The Rescue

**Author's Note:**

> I borrowed some of the dialogue from this episode. I love Archie's speech to Regina, so I copied their exchange pretty much verbatim even though Marco doesn't hear it. I claim no credit for any of the lines I borrowed!

Marco can’t remember ever feeling this helpless before in his life. When he and his wife tried in vain to have a child all those years, he’d felt a disappointment that eventually turned into sad resignation, but they’d always had each other.

Now standing next to the collapsed mineshaft with no idea whether Archie and the mayor’s boy are alright… well. He’s not used to feeling so utterly useless.

When the workers had tried blowing the entrance open and Emma reappeared from the dust only to announce that they’d failed, Marco’s felt fear grip his heart. He may have made a living by crafting things out of wood, but he could tell by the noise that _something_ had broken free. What if they’d just inadvertently collapsed whatever part of the mine that Archie and Henry are trapped in? Even if they haven’t been crushed, what if they suffocate before anyone can get to them in time?

Marco’s startled out of his grim thoughts when Ms. Swan suddenly goes striding past him. He watches curiously as she makes her way over to the firetruck where they’d confined Pongo to keep him safe and out of the way. He has a momentary thought of what will happen to Pongo if his owner doesn’t… no, he needs to stop this. Worrying never solved anything, and he needs to be sharp in case there’s anything he can do to help.

Emma opens the door and Pongo goes bounding off towards a seemingly random patch of brush. Marco, Mayor Mills, and Sheriff Graham look at her in surprise as she runs after the dalmatian. “It’s Archie’s dog” she explains without breaking her stride.

Pongo starts whining and scratching at the ground, and the four of them crowd around him.

“He’s found something.” Emma takes a step closer and points at the ground. “Look, this is where they must be!”

They quickly clear away dirt and leaves to reveal a thin, square shaped sheet of metal. Marco and Graham quickly move it aside, revealing a heavy metal grate set into the ground.

Emma looks up, her eyes quickly flitting to each of their faces.

Graham explains that it’s an air shaft for the mine, confirming what Marco already assumed. The grate is heavy and packed too well into the ground from disuse, for them to move it by hand. They waste no time bringing the tow truck over so they can grab the truck’s hook and attach it to the bars.

With Ruby behind the wheel, they have her activate the winch, so the line pulls taught while they try to help pry up the sides with crowbars. The grate pulls suddenly pulls free, and Emma yells to Ruby that she can stop.

After moving the grate off to the side, they’re faced with the next phase of the plan. They stare down into the air shaft. It’s too dark to tell exactly how deep it goes, and there’s no ladder for someone to climb down.

After a moment, the mayor breaks the silence to ask what they’re all thinking. “So? What’s next?”

“We need to lower someone straight down. Or the line, will collapse the sides of the shaft” Marco explains. They’d decided that the only realistic option was to harness someone to the truck’s pulley system, and carefully lower them down so they can scope out the area.

After a moment of Regina and Emma debating about who would be lowered down, they settle on Ms. Swan as she’s more used to strenuous physical activity. Marco would volunteer to go down himself, but he knows that he’s far from being the best suited out all of them. The wood carver may have stayed relatively fit in his old age, but his days of lifting fully grown adults are over.

After securing Emma into the harness, they slowly lower her down into the shaft. They wait for a couple minutes, before Emma’s voice crackles over the walkie-talkie telling them to stop. Ruby flips the switch that stops the mechanism, and the four of them wait with bated breath to hear what Emma had found.

By now everyone else has noticed what they were doing, and a small crowd of townsfolk gathered around in a loose circle. If Marco wasn’t so scared, he might find it amusing that this is probably the most exciting thing to happen in Storybrook in years. As it is, he wonders whether the construction crew have ever had to deal with a rescue mission before. Archie will probably want to put the offer out there that he’s available if anyone feels like they need someone to talk to about the day’s stress. That is, if… no. Stop that thought right there.

Marco is truly blessed to have such a kind and caring friend. The therapist may not like to admit it, but Marco knows that he’s skipped lunch multiple times in the past, when a client’s session ran overtime or when Archie could tell that they just really needed someone. He never let it affect their easy conversation, but some nights when they would go out to dinner, Marco could tell that Archie was still pondering something that had been occurred in one of his client’s sessions. Archie has never- _would never_ \- break his patient’s confidentiality, so Marco does his best to show Archie that he’s there for him should he need to talk about what’s bothering him.

Some sort of commotion can suddenly be heard from underground, and the atmosphere become even more tense. Though they can’t make out any words, the sound of panicked voices reaches them shortly before a faint metal clanging that sounds very far away.

Pongo barks from somewhere off to the side, and a distant corner of Marco’s brain wonders if someone should corral him back into the truck. Archie would be devastated if anything happened to his beloved pet, and the area surrounding the old mine still isn’t safe.

Nothing happens for a few agonizing minutes, before Emma once again calls through the walkie-talkie, this time for them to begin pulling them up.

They slowly raise them up out of the hole, and the crown starts clapping once Emma’s head appears, followed by Henry whose arms are wrapped tightly around her neck. The other’s help the pair up and while Marco is relieved to see the mayor’s boy and their new deputy safe, he only has eyes for Archie.

After first taking his iconic umbrella and setting it off to the side, Marco grabs his friend by the arm and helps him out. The moment he’s on solid ground, Marco pulls him into an embrace. After a few moments, he lets go and takes a step back so he can look the doctor over. “Are you alright?”

Archie ducks his head slightly, having always hated being the center of attention. “I’m alright. I hit my head and I imagine I’ll be a bit sore tomorrow, but that’s all.”

Marco nods. “Good, good.” He’s just about to suggest that Archie goes and gets himself looked at by the EMT’s, when they look up to see the mayor walking towards them.

“Thank you, Dr. Hopper.”

Archie glances around for a moment, before taking her off to the side.

Marco moves a few steps away off to the side in an effort to be polite and give them some privacy, but he refuses to move any farther away than that. Not when he’s only just gotten his friend back. Not when he knows how Regina tends to treat the kind doctor. Archie may not have ever told Marco anything specific about his interactions with the mayor, but Marco is smart enough to read between the lines.

Go give them some privacy, Marco decides to go find out where Pongo has gotten off to. Someone must have tethered him somewhere out of the way, or else he’d certainly be all over his owner right now.

~

“I, uh. I have something to say.”

Regina looks at him questioningly.

“I’m going to continue to treat Henry, a I’m going to do it my own way.”

Their madame mayor looks taken aback at this, and she frowns. “My relief at his safety hasn’t changed a thing, Dr. Hopper. You will do as I say, or you-“

Archie cuts her off. “Or what? You’ll ruin my life? You’ll do your worst?” He shakes his head before continuing. “Because, I will always do my best.”

“Don’t test me.”

“Oh, I don’t need to. You’re going to leave me alone to do my work.”

She sneers. “Really? Why is that?”

“Because some day, madame mayor, you may find yourself in a custody battle.” A look of understanding begins to bloom across her face. “And do you know how the court decides who is a fit parent? They consult an expert. Particularly one, who had treated the child.” Archie pauses for a moment for his words to sink in. “So, I suggest that you think about _that._ And you allow me to do my work. And let me do it the way my conscience tells me to.”

They look at each other in silence for a moment before Archie nods his head and walks away.

~

Marco has just finished checking on Pongo, when Archie walks over with a triumphant smile on his face. Someone, probably Graham, had tied the dalmatian’s leash to the back of the truck to keep him out of the way. After petting him for a moment, Marco had decided to leave him there for the time being until Archie was ready to collect him. “I take it you had a good conversation?” Marco asks.

Archie laughs quietly. “I guess you could say that. I told Regina that I’m done being pushed around. From now on, I’m going to be the best person I can be.”

Marco claps him on the shoulder. “That is wonderful, my friend. You know, you’re already more than I could possibly ask for in a friend.”

The doctor looks off to the side, a hint of pink appearing on his face. “Marco, I…”

He looks at the younger man curiously. “Yes?”

Archie surprises him then, by taking two steps forward and placing a gentle hand against Marco’s cheek. He stares into his eyes for a long moment, before pulling him forward into a kiss.

Marco’s sharp intake of breath seems to startle Archie into having second thoughts about his actions, but Marco wraps an arm around his friend’s waist to keep him from stepping away. The two men kiss tenderly for a minute, years worth of shared emotion and mutual closeness able to be felt through each point of contact.

Everyone is to occupied elsewhere to notice the pair standing off to the side, but neither man would have cared even if the thought of the others possibly seeing had occurred to them.

Marco breaks the kiss when he hears wood clatter against stone. Looking down at their feet, he bends over to pick up the umbrella from where it had landed after falling from Archie’s hands. “Ey, be careful with that umbrella. It saved my best friend’s life” he says with a smile.

Archie laughs, a delighted look on his face. “I always said that it was good luck.”

Marco hands the umbrella back to its rightful owner and nods his head towards where the others are beginning to clear the area. “Let’s go get Pong, ehh? He must be dying to see you.”

The pair start heading over to the truck, much to Pongo’s obvious excitement when he spots his owner.

Marco smiles when Archie moves his umbrella to his other side so he can take his hand, weaving their fingers together as they walk.

**Author's Note:**

> I just started watching OUAT again, starting from the beginning. I can't remember how far I got the first time. I'm currently up to season one episode five this time around, and I just love Archie so much. There are only a few fics for Archie/Marco on ao3, so I figured I would add one to the list.


End file.
